The rain managed to stay away for most of the day, so this afternoon I took advantage and headed to Prince Street and West Broadway to serenade Rachel – on a piano in the street.

Eighty-eight pianos (referring to the number of keys) have been dropped in public places across the city by Sing For Hope and will be removed on June 16, when they’ll be donated to community centres, health centers and schools.

Each piano is individually decorated (you can see some of the others here), and this one in SoHo was outside the Chobani yoghurt shop – so appropriately covered in yoghurt lids.

So… it’s been about 12 years since I took my Grade IV piano exam and I have an occasional tinker on the keys when I head back to Sussex. But today I realized I have forgotten everything.

I sang a mini bit of a Lydia Warren Original (c. 2003) and tried a Grade II piece which is semi committed to memory, but it was a pretty poor show. I blame the broken centre D key for ruining my mazurka.

This was fun and I love the concept… I just don’t think I gained a lot of fans.